Ranbir replaces SRK?

Although his debut hasn’t exactly set the cash registers ringing, Ranbir Kapoor seems to have caught many directors’ attention. The latest is that Ranbir has been finalised to replace Shah Rukh Khan in Raju Hirani’s next.

This will be Ranbir’s third film after Saawariya and Yashraj’s next. The film is based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel, Five-Point Someone. Shah Rukh opted out of the film when differences cropped up between him and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Raju Hirani, we hear, is much relieved after Ranbir gave him the nod. Our source says, “Raju Hirani was in a fix as his Munnabhai 3 is stuck due to Sanjay Dutt’s legal problems and Shah Rukh Khan opted out of his other film.”

Hirani held detailed narration sessions with Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, too. Our source reveals, “Both of them were keen to do the film. However, Abhishek’s dates were already booked for Dilli 6, and Hrithik was busy with the pre-production of his films with Anurag Basu and Krrish 2 respectively. The moment Hirani saw the promos of Saawariya he made up his mind to approach Ranbir.”

Hirani even called up Sanjay Leela Bhansali to inquire about Ranbir. “After having had a word with Bhansali, Hirani approached Ranbir. Now everything has been finalised,” our source says.

Eager to keep the matter hush-hush, Ranbir’s father Rishi Kapoor denied the news. A close friend of Ranbir confirmed the story. Raju Hirani remained unavailable for comment.